As immigration arrests spike in Chicago, activists escalate tactics to fight back

Source: AP

Updated 7:01 PM EDT, September 18, 2025


CHICAGO (AP) — As encounters with federal immigration agents around Chicago increase, tactics used by activists and immigrant leaders to fight back are also escalating. The Trump administration has singled out Chicago as its latest mark for immigration enforcement, using traffic stops in immigrant-heavy areas and targeting day laborers outside hardware stores.

“We will not back down,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted Thursday on X, recirculating dramatic footage of arrests at a suburban Chicago home days earlier. Activists and local leaders are also defiant, trying to deter agents, warn residents and keep attention on a man killed by an immigration officer last week.

Focusing on day laborers

As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched a new operation this month, the focus appeared to be on traffic stops in largely immigrant and Latino neighborhoods and suburbs. This week, activists say arrests of day laborers are on the rise, echoing enforcement trends elsewhere.

Federal agents were spotted at roughly half a dozen Home Depot and Menards stores in the Chicago area, resulting in individual arrests, according to activists. “Our neighbors who build, paint, fix and beautify this city have been the target of these unwarranted attacks,” said Miguel Alvelo Rivera with the Latino Union, which advocates for day laborers.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/immigration-chicago-arrests-ice-trump-sanctuary-85f5dd3bfec3b5e469452223a48b75fe